EP4262031A1

EP4262031A1 - Insertion assembly and socket

Info

Publication number: EP4262031A1
Application number: EP21902024.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Fuyu LI; Weijun Zhang; Qikai CHAI
Original assignee: Gongniu Group Co Ltd
Current assignee: Gongniu Group Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-12-09
Filing date: 2021-07-14
Publication date: 2023-10-18
Also published as: CN112582840B; CN112582840A; WO2022121313A1

Abstract

An insertion assembly, comprising a cover and a ground pole clamp. The cover comprises a cylinder configured for insertion of a plug; the cylinder comprises a sidewall and a bottom wall; the side wall comprises two relief holes provided in the radial direction of the cylinder; the ground pole clamp comprises a bottom plate, two clamping plates, and two contact portions. The bottom plate is located on the side of the bottom wall distant from the inner cavity of the cylinder; the two clamping plates are arranged opposite to each other along the radial direction of the cylinder, and are located on the outer surface of the side wall; the two clamping plates are configured to clamp the side wall; each contact portion is located on the side of one clamping plate distant from the bottom plate; each contact portion defines a closed annular structure together with the end portion of the corresponding clamping plate distant from the bottom plate; each contact portion passes through one relief hole to be located in the inner cavity of the cylinder.

Description

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202011452066.6, submitted to China National Intellectual Property Administration on December 9, 2020 , which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of electrical connection device technologies, and in particular, to a plug-in assembly and a socket.

BACKGROUND

A socket, also known as a power socket or a switch socket, is a common electrical accessory used for electrical connection. The socket may be used for plugging of a plug of one of various electrical devices. The plug has various metal connection wires, and the plug is connected or disconnected with conductive copper components inside the socket through the connection metal wires, thereby implementing connection or disconnection between the socket and the electrical devices.
In order to ensure electrical safety, the socket is usually provided with a grounding component inside. The grounding component is used for grounding. However, during the use of the socket, multiple plugging in and out of the plug may cause a deformation of the grounding component of the socket, thereby resulting in an opening size of the grounding component not complying with a safety distance and related safety requirements (hereinafter referred to as safety specification requirements). As a result, the reliability of the contact between the socket and the plug is reduced, which may lead to a poor grounding of the electrical device and pose a potential safety hazard.

SUMMARY

In an aspect, a plug-in assembly is provided. The plug-in assembly includes a cover member and a ground clamp. The cover member includes a cylinder body configured to allow a plug to be plugged therein. The cylinder body includes a side wall and a bottom wall. The side wall includes two avoidance holes disposed along a radial direction of the cylinder body. The ground clamp includes a bottom plate, two clamping plates and two contact portions. The bottom plate is located on a side of the bottom wall away from an inner cavity of the cylinder body. The two clamping plates are disposed opposite to each other along the radial direction of the cylinder body, and located on an outer surface of the side wall. The two clamping plates are configured to clamp the side wall. The contact portions each are located on a side of a clamping plate away from the bottom plate. Each contact portion and an end of a corresponding clamping plate away from the bottom plate constitute a closed annular structure. Each contact portion passes through an avoidance hole to be located in the inner cavity of the cylinder body.
In some embodiments, side surfaces of the two clamping plates opposite to each other are clamping surfaces, and a distance between the two clamping surfaces is smaller than an outer diameter of the cylinder body, so that the cylinder body pushes the two clamping plates apart. After the cylinder body pushes the two clamping plates apart, a minimum distance between the two contact portions is a safety specification value.
In some embodiments, the contact portion includes a first connecting segment, a second connecting segment, and a third connecting segment located between the first connecting segment and the second connecting segment. The first connecting segment includes an arc-shaped portion connected to the end of the corresponding clamping plate. A starting direction of the first connecting segment is located in a first direction, the first connecting segment extends deviating from the first direction, and an ending direction of the first connecting segment is located in a second direction. The first direction is an extension direction of the clamping plate, and the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction. A free end of the second connecting segment abuts against the corresponding clamping plate.
In some embodiments, the bottom plate, the clamping plates, and the contact portions have an integral structure.
In some embodiments, the ground clamp further includes reinforcing ribs, and the reinforcing ribs are located on outer surfaces of the contact portions, the clamping plates, and both ends of the bottom plate.
In some embodiments, the reinforcing ribs and the ground clamp have an integral structure.
In some embodiments, an orthogonal projection of the contact portion on the clamping plate is located in a middle of the clamping plate.
In some embodiments, a width of an orthogonal projection of the contact portion on the bottom plate is smaller than a width of an orthogonal projection of the clamping plate on the bottom plate.
In some embodiments, an outer circumferential surface of the side wall is provided thereon with a limiting structure configured to prevent the clamping plates from moving along a circumferential direction of the cylinder body.
In some embodiments, the limiting structure includes two limiting grooves disposed opposite to each other along the radial direction of the cylinder body. A limiting groove includes a limiting groove bottom surface and an avoidance hole disposed in the limiting groove bottom surface. The avoidance hole extends along an axial direction of the cylinder body to the bottom wall and extends through a portion of the bottom wall. A clamping surface of the clamping plate is attached to the limiting groove bottom surface. Two side surfaces of the avoidance hole opposite to each other along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body are configured to limit a contact portion to move along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body.
In some embodiments, the limiting groove further includes two strip-shaped protrusions disposed opposite to each other, and protruding from the outer surface of the side wall along the radial direction of the cylinder body. The strip-shaped protrusions extend along the axial direction of the cylinder body, and a length direction of the strip-shaped protrusions is parallel to the axial direction of the cylinder body. Side surfaces of the two strip-shaped protrusions opposite to each other are configured to limit the clamping plate to move along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body.
In some embodiments, the bottom wall includes an installation groove on a side away from the inner cavity of the cylinder body. The installation groove extends along the radial direction of the cylinder body, and two ends of the installation groove are respectively communicated the limiting grooves. The bottom plate is located in the installation groove.
In some embodiments, the installation groove includes a positioning protrusion. The bottom plate of the ground clamp includes a through hole for the positioning protrusion to pass through. The positioning protrusion is configured to cooperate with the through hole to prevent the ground clamp from moving along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body relative to the cover member.
In some embodiments, the safety specification value is in a range from 28 mm to 29 mm, inclusive.
In another aspect, a socket is provided. The socket includes a cover plate and a ground connecting piece. The cover plate includes at least one plug-in assembly according to any of the above-mentioned embodiments and the ground connecting piece. The at least one plug-in assembly is fixedly connected with the ground connecting piece.
In some embodiments, the ground clamp includes a riveting hole, and the ground connecting piece includes an installation hole. The ground clamp is fixedly connected with the ground connecting piece by a rivet passing through the installation hole and the riveting hole in sequence.
In some embodiments, the bottom wall includes an installation groove on a side away from the inner cavity of the cylinder body. The installation groove extends along the radial direction of the cylinder body, and the installation groove includes a blind hole configured to accommodate a protruding portion of the rivet passing through the riveting hole.
In some embodiments, the socket further includes a protective door assembly, a power cord, a switch, a copper strip connector, and a base shell. The protective door assembly is located between the cover plate and the base shell. The protective door assembly is configured to cover socket outlets of the socket in a case where a plug of an electrical device is not plugged into the socket, and uncover the socket outlets of the socket in a case where the plug of the electrical device is plugged into the socket. The copper strip connector is located between the protective door assembly and the base shell, installed on the protective door assembly, and connected to an output terminal of the switch through a jumper wire. The power cord is connected to an input terminal of the switch through a jumper wire. The switch is configured to control whether a current is produced between the power cord and the copper strip connector, and further control whether the socket is energized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe technical solutions in the present disclosure more clearly, accompanying drawings to be used in some embodiments of the present disclosure will be introduced briefly below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings to be described below are merely accompanying drawings of some embodiments of the present disclosure, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may obtain other drawings according to these drawings. In addition, the accompanying drawings to be described below may be regarded as schematic diagrams, but are not limitations on an actual size of a product, an actual process of a method and an actual timing of a signal to which the embodiments of the present disclosure relate.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a socket in the related art;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a socket, in accordance with some embodiments;
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a structure of the socket shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a ground clamp and a ground connecting piece in a dashed box J in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a ground clamp, in accordance with some embodiments;
FIG. 6 is a front view of the ground clamp shown in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a top view of the ground clamp shown in FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 is a left view of the ground clamp shown in FIG. 5;
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a cover member, in accordance with some embodiments;
FIG. 10 is a top view of a cover member shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the cover member shown in FIG. 10 in a B-B direction;
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a plug-in assembly, in accordance with some embodiments;
FIG. 13 is a top view of the plug-in assembly shown in FIG. 12; and
FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the plug-in assembly shown in FIG. 13 in an A-A direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Technical solutions in some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings below. Obviously, the described embodiments are merely some but not all embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present disclosure shall be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.
Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the term "comprise" and other forms thereof such as the third-person singular form "comprises" and the present participle form "comprising" are construed as an open and inclusive meaning, i.e., "including, but not limited to". In the description of the specification, the terms such as "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "exemplary embodiments", "example", "specific example" or "some examples" are intended to indicate that specific features, structures, materials or characteristics related to the embodiment(s) or example(s) are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment(s) or example(s). In addition, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics may be included in any one or more embodiments or examples in any suitable manner.
Hereinafter, the terms such as "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only, and are not to be construed as indicating or implying the relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the term "a plurality of' or "the plurality of' means two or more unless otherwise specified.
In the description of some embodiments, the expressions "coupled", "connected" and derivatives thereof may be used. For example, the term "connected" may be used in the description of some embodiments to indicate that two or more components are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. For another example, the term "coupled" may be used in the description of some embodiments to indicate that two or more components are in direct physical or electrical contact. However, the term "coupled" or "communicatively coupled" may also mean that two or more components are not in direct contact with each other, but still cooperate or interact with each other. The embodiments disclosed herein are not necessarily limited to the contents herein.
The phrase "at least one of A, B and C" has a same meaning as the phrase "at least one of A, B or C", and they both include the following combinations of A, B and C: only A, only B, only C, a combination of A and B, a combination of A and C, a combination of B and C, and a combination of A, B and C.
The phrase "A and/or B" includes the following three combinations: only A, only B, and a combination of A and B.
As used herein, the term "if' is optionally construed as "when" or "in a case where" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting", depending on the context. Similarly, depending on the context, the phrase "if it is determined that" or "if [a stated condition or event] is detected" is optionally construed as "in a case where it is determined that", "in response to determining that", "in a case where [the stated condition or event] is detected" or "in response to detecting [the stated condition or event]".
The use of the phrase "applicable to" or "configured to" herein means an open and inclusive language, which does not exclude devices that are applicable to or configured to perform additional tasks or steps.
In addition, the use of the phrase "based on" is meant to be open and inclusive, since a process, step, calculation or other action that is "based on" one or more of the stated conditions or values may, in practice, be based on additional conditions or values exceeding those stated.
As used herein, the term such as "about", "substantially" or "approximately" includes a stated value and an average value within an acceptable range of deviation of a particular value. The acceptable range of deviation is determined by a person of ordinary skill in the art in view of measurement in question and errors associated with measurement of a particular quantity (i.e., limitations of a measurement system).
Exemplary embodiments are described herein with reference to sectional views and/or plan views as idealized exemplary drawings. In the accompanying drawings, thicknesses of layers and sizes of regions are enlarged for clarity. Therefore, variations in shapes relative to the accompanying drawings due to, for example, manufacturing technologies and/or tolerances may be envisaged. Therefore, the exemplary embodiments should not be construed as being limited to the shapes of the regions shown herein, but including deviations in the shapes due to, for example, manufacturing. For example, an etched region shown in a rectangular shape generally has a feature of being curved. Therefore, the regions shown in the accompanying drawings are schematic in nature, and their shapes are not intended to show actual shapes of regions in a device, and are not intended to limit the scope of the exemplary embodiments. In the description of the specification, specific features, structures, materials or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.
In order to ensure electrical safety, a socket is usually provided inside with components for grounding, such as a grounding piece 102 shown in FIG. 1. The grounding piece 102 has a U-shaped structure as a whole. The grounding piece 102 includes a left side plate 103, a right side plate 104, and a bottom plate 105. The left side plate 103 and the right side plate 104 are symmetrically spaced and disposed at both ends of the bottom plate 105. Two surrounding ends of the left side plate 103 and the right side plate 104 away from the bottom plate 105 form contact portions, and the two contact portions are in contact with a plug adapted thereto. The socket further includes a panel 101, and a main body of the panel 101 extends downwards to form two platforms 106. A distance between side surfaces of the two platforms 106 that are away from each other is a predetermined value. In a case where the grounding piece 102 is in a natural state, a distance between a middle of the left side plate 103 and a middle of the right side plate 104 is less than the above predetermined value. After the grounding piece 102 is assembled with the panel 101, the two platforms 106 are in contact with the middle of the left side plate 103 and the middle of the right side plate 104 respectively, and push the left side plate 103 and the right side plate 104 apart, so that the distance between the middle of the left side plate 103 and the middle of the right side plate 104 reaches the above predetermined value. When designing the grounding piece 102, the distance between the middles of the left side plate 103 and the right side plate 104 of the grounding piece 102 is set to the predetermined value, and a size of an opening of the grounding piece 102 complies with a safety specification value.
It will be noted that the size of the opening of the grounding piece 102 refers to a minimum distance between the two contact portions. The safety specification value refers to a value that complies with a safety distance and related safety requirements. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific value of the safety specification value, which may be determined based on actual cases. For example, the safety specification value may be in a range from 28 mm to 29 mm (i.e., (28.5 ± 0.5) mm). The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific value of the preset value, as long as in a case where the distance between the middle of the left side plate 103 and the middle of the right side plate 104 is the predetermined value, the size of the opening of the grounding piece 102 complies with the safety specification value.
After assembling the grounding piece 102 with the panel 101, the size of the opening of the grounding piece 102 complies with the safety specification value, thereby ensuring a good contact between the grounding piece 102 and the plug. In addition, even if the bottom plate 105 is twisted and deformed, the size of the opening of the grounding piece 102 may still complies with the safety specification requirements due to the two platforms 106 pushing the left side plate 103 and the right side plate 104 apart, thereby ensuring the reliability of the size of the opening of the grounding piece 102.
However, after multiple plugging in and out of the plug, the contact portions on the side away from the bottom plate 105 are prone to deformation since the two platforms 106 only push the middle of the left side plate 103 and the middle of the right side plate 104 apart. Moreover, when the contact portions are deformed, it may be easy to directly cause the size of the opening of the grounding piece 102 not complying with the safety specification requirements, and further result in a poor contact between the grounding piece 102 and the plug, thereby leading to a decrease in the reliability of grounding of the electrical device and a potential safety hazard.
In order to solve the above technical problem, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a socket 100 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 3 is an exploded diagram of the structure of the socket 100 shown in FIG. 2. For example, the socket 100 may be a German socket or an Italian socket.
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the socket 100 includes a cover plate 110, a base shell 120, and a protective door assembly 130 located between the cover plate 110 and the base shell 120. The protective door assembly 130 is used to cover socket outlets of the socket 100 in a case where the plug of the electrical device is not plugged into the socket, so as to prevent dust or other contaminants from entering the interior of the socket 100. In a case where the plug of the electrical device is plugged into the socket 100, the protective door assembly 130 moves away to allow the plug to be plugged into the socket 100, thereby implementing a connection between the socket 100 and the electrical device.
As shown in FIG. 3, the socket 100 further includes a power cord 140, a switch 150, and a copper strip connector 160. The copper strip connector 160 is located between the protective door assembly 130 and the base shell 120 and is installed on the protective door assembly 130. The copper strip connector 160 includes a jumper wire 161, and the copper strip connector 160 is connected to an output terminal of the switch 150 through the jumper wire 161. The power cord 140 is connected to an input terminal of the switch 150. The switch 150 may control whether a current is produced between the power cord 140 and the copper strip connector 160, thereby controlling whether the socket 100 is energized. When the switch 150 is turned on, the current flows from the power cord 140 to the copper strip connector 160 through the switch 150. In this case, the socket 100 is energized, so that the electrical device connected to the socket 100 is on. When the switch 150 is turned off, the current cannot flow through the switch 150. In this case, the socket 100 is not energized, so that the electrical device connected to the socket 100 is off.
As shown in FIG. 3, the cover plate 110 includes a plurality of plug-in assemblies 200 and a strip-shaped ground connecting piece 3. As shown in FIG. 12, a plug-in assembly 200 includes a cover member 1 and a ground clamp 2, and the cover member 1 and the ground clamp 2 are fixedly connected. Each plug-in assembly 200 creates a plug-in position to allow a plug adapted thereto to be plugged into. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of ground clamps 2 are fixedly connected to the ground connecting piece 3. Since the ground connecting piece 3 is used for grounding, the ground of the ground clamps 2 may be implemented by fixedly connecting the ground clamps 2 to the ground connecting piece 3, so as to implement the ground of the plug-in assemblies 200. Further, the plug connected to the plug-in assembly 200 may be grounded, thereby ensuring the electrical safety of the electrical device.
Hereinafter, the fixed connection manner between the ground clamp 2 and the ground connecting piece 3 will be exemplary illustrated. FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a dashed box J in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 4, the ground clamp 2 includes a riveting hole 221, and the ground connecting piece 3 includes an installation hole 31 corresponding to the riveting hole 221 and a rivet 32. The rivet 32 passes through the installation hole 31 and the riveting hole 221 in sequence, thereby fixedly connecting the ground clamp 2 to the ground connecting piece 3.
Hereinafter, the structures of the cover member 1 and the ground clamp 2 of the socket 100 will be exemplary illustrated. Firstly, the structure of the ground clamp 2 will be exemplary illustrated.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 5, the ground clamp 2 is U-shaped as a whole and includes a bottom plate 22 and two clamping plates 23 that are integrally formed. The two clamping plates 23 are symmetrically disposed at two ends of the bottom plate 22 at intervals. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the bottom plate 22 and the clamping plates 23 all have flat plate structures, and two side surfaces of the two clamping plates 23 opposite to each other are clamping surfaces 231. As shown in FIG. 12, the two clamping surfaces 231 are used to clamp the cover member 1.
As shown in FIG. 5, the ground clamp 2 further includes contact portions 24 respectively disposed at ends of the clamping plates 23 away from the bottom plate 22. The two contact portions 24 are disposed on sides of the two clamping plates 23 opposite to each other. The contact portion 24 has a curved strip-shaped plate structure. The contact portion 24 and an end of a corresponding clamping plate 23 away from the bottom plate 22 form a closed annular structure. The contact portion 24 and the clamping plate 23 that are shown in FIG. 5 are integrally formed. For example, an end of the contact portion 24 is integrally connected and formed with the end of the clamping plate 23 away from the bottom plate 22, and another end of the contact portion 24 is bent towards the corresponding clamping surface 231 and abuts against the clamping surface 231.
The contact portion 24 is composed of three segments. As shown in FIG. 5, an arc-shaped portion that is connected to the end of the clamping plate 23 is referred to as a first connecting segment 241. A starting point of the first connecting segment 241 is located in a first direction. The first connecting segment 241 extends deviating from the first direction, so that an ending point of the first connecting segment is located in a second direction. The first direction is an extension direction of the clamping plate 23, and the second direction is approximately perpendicular to the first direction. A plate portion that abuts against the clamping surface 231 and is away from the clamping plate 23 is referred to as a second connecting segment 242. A free end of the second connecting segment 242 abuts against the clamping plate 23. A remaining portion between the first connecting segment 241 and the second connecting segment 242 is referred to as a third connecting segment 243. The first connecting segment 241 and the third connecting segment 243 both have curved plate structure, and the second connecting segment 242 has a flat plate structure. The first connecting segment 241 and the third connecting segment 243 may undergo elastic deformation when subjected to an external force, thereby applying a certain elastic force on the cover member 1. The second connecting segment 242 provides good support for the first connecting segment 241 and the third connecting segment 243, thereby improving the deformation resistance capability of the contact portion 24.
It can be seen from the above that the contact portion 24 and the clamping plate 23 are integrally formed and constitutes the annular structure, so that the deformation resistance capability of the contact portion 24 of the ground clamp 2 may be improved.
In the above embodiments, the contact portion 24 and the clamping plate 23 are integrally formed. In some other embodiments, the contact portion 24 and the clamping plate 23 may be separately disposed and fixed together.
In the above embodiments, the contact portion 24 is disposed at the end of the clamping plate 23 away from the bottom plate 22, and the contact portion 24 and the end of the clamping plate 23 away from the bottom plate 22 form the annular structure. In some other embodiments, the contact portion 24 may be disposed at another portion of the clamping plate 23, such as the middle of the clamping plate 23. The contact portion 24 and the clamping plate 23 may not form the annular structure. For example, the contact portion 24 may be a protrusion located on a side of the clamping surface 231 towards an inner cavity of a cylinder body 11 (the cylinder body 11 of the cover member 1, which will be described below) and protruding from the clamping surface 231.
In addition, in order to enhance the structural strength of the ground clamp 2, as shown in FIG. 5, the ground clamp 2 further includes reinforcing ribs 25. The reinforcing ribs 25 are disposed on surfaces of the contact portions 24 and the clamping plates 23 of the ground clamp 2. In addition, surfaces at two ends of the bottom plate 22 are further provided with the reinforcing ribs 25 with predetermined lengths. In some embodiments, the reinforcing ribs 25 disposed on the contact portion 24, the clamping plate 23, and a corresponding side of the bottom plate 22 are integrally connected. The reinforcing ribs 25 on the two clamping plates 23 are disposed on side surfaces of the two clamping plates 23 that are facing away from each other. The reinforcing ribs 25 on the bottom plate 22 are disposed on a surface of the bottom plate 22 away from the clamping plates 23. The reinforcing rib 25 on the contact portion 24 is disposed on the surface of the contact portion 24 away from the corresponding clamping surface 231.
The reinforcing ribs 25 may be integrally formed with the ground clamp 2, for example, through a stamping process. In this way, in a case where the reinforcing rib 25 protrudes from an outer surface of the ground clamp 2 towards an outer side of the ground clamp 2, a portion on an inner surface of the ground clamp 2 corresponding to the reinforcing rib 25 are recessed towards the outer side of the ground clamp 2. The outer surface of the ground clamp 2 includes the surfaces of the two clamping plates 23 that are facing away from each other and remaining outer surfaces, smoothly connected to the surfaces of the two clamping plates 23, of the ground clamp 2. The inner surface of the ground clamp 2 includes the two clamping surfaces 231 and remaining inner surface, smoothly connected to the two clamping surfaces 231, of the ground clamp 2.
In practical applications, the ground clamp 2 electrically cooperates with a plug adapted thereto through the contact portion 24, and make the plug ground, so as to protect the electrical device. When the plug is plugged into the ground clamp 2 facing towards the bottom plate 22, the plug will exert a force on the two contact portions 24 that moves the two contact portions 24 away from each other, resulting in the deformation of the two contact portions 24 and a decrease in the reliability of the ground clamp 2. However, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the reinforcing ribs 25 with the integral structure are disposed on the two ends of the bottom plate 22, the clamping plates 23, and the contact portions 24. In this way, when the plug applies the force on the two contact portions 24 that moves the two contact portions 24 away from each other, the strength of the ground clamp 2 may increase due to the reinforcing ribs 25. Therefore, the deformation of the two contact portions 24 in the directions away from each other may be reduced, and the deformation of the two contact portions 24 may be prone to restore after the external force is removed, thereby preventing deformation of the contact portions 24 and further enhancing the reliability of the ground clamp 2. In addition, the reinforcing ribs 25 with the integral structure may further enhance the structural strength of the ground clamp 2.
FIG. 6 is a front view of the ground clamp 2 shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 6, a point O on a contact portion 24 furthest away from a corresponding clamping surface 231 forms a contact point with the plug. A distance between the contact point O and the corresponding clamping surface 231 is defined as C. In a case where the ground clamp 2 is in the natural state, a distance between the contact points O and O of the two contact portions 24 is D. Therefore, in the case where the ground clamp 2 is in the natural state, a distance between the two clamping surfaces 231 is (D + 2C), and the distance D between the two contact points O and O is the size of the opening of the ground clamp 2 in the case where the ground clamp 2 is in the natural state.
Embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the dimensions of the reinforcing ribs 25 on the outer surface of the bottom plate 22. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a length F of the reinforcing rib 25 on the outer surface of the bottom plate 22 may be greater than or equal to 0.5C and less than or equal to 2C (i.e., 0.5C ≤ F ≤ 2C). In a case where the lengths F of the reinforcing ribs 25 are each less than 0.5C, and the plug applies a relatively large force on the contact portions 24, the reinforcing ribs 25 will not be able to withstand the force, resulting in the deformation of the contact portions 24. In a case where the lengths F of the reinforcing ribs 25 are each greater than 2C, the process difficulty may increase, resulting in resource waste and increased costs. Therefore, in a case where the length F of the reinforcing rib 25 is within the above range, it is possible to effectively prevent the deformation of the contact portions 24, and save the costs. For example, the length F of the reinforcing rib 25 may be 0.5C, 0.8C, 1C, 1.2C, 1.5C, 1.8C, or 2C.
As shown in FIG. 5, the bottom plate 22 and the two clamping plates 23 all have plate structures. A plane perpendicular to the bottom plate 22 and perpendicular to the two clamping plates 23 is defined as a reference plane P. It can be understood that in FIG. 5, the reference plane P passes through the reinforcing ribs 25. FIG. 7 is a top view of the ground clamp shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 7, in a direction perpendicular to the above reference plane P, a width W1 of the contact portion 24 is smaller than a width W2 of the clamping plate 23.
FIG. 8 is a left view of the ground clamp shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 8, in the direction perpendicular to the above reference plane P, the contact portions 24 are respectively located in the middles of the clamping plates 23. In some embodiments, the widths W1 of the contact portions 24 are set to be smaller than the widths W2 of the clamping plates 23, and the contact portions 24 are respectively in the middles of the clamping plates 23. When the ground clamp 2 is fixedly installed on the cover member 1, the contact portions 24 may be located inside the cover member 1, and the clamping plates 23 may clamp the cover member 1 (which will be illustrated again later).
In conclusion, the contact portions 24, the clamping plates 23, and the bottom plate 22 that constitute the ground clamp 2 are provided as the integral structure, and the reinforcing ribs 25 with the integral structure are disposed on the two ends of the bottom plate 22, the clamping plates 23, and the contact portions 24, so that the ground clamp 2 has a stable and reliable structure. In addition, the width of the contact portions 24 is smaller than the width of the clamping plate 23, and the contact potion 24 is located in the middle of the clamping plate 23. Thus, when the ground clamp 2 is fixedly installed on cover member 1, the contact portions 24 are located inside the cover member 1, and the clamping plates 23 clamp the cover member 1.
Hereinafter, the structure of the cover member 1 will be exemplary illustrated.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 9, the cover member 1 includes a cylinder body 11 for allowing the plug to be plugged therein. The cylinder body 11 includes a side wall 111 and a bottom wall 112. The plug is plugged into the inner cavity of the cylinder body 11 from an end of the cylinder body 11 away from the bottom wall 112.
As shown in FIG. 9, the side wall 111 includes two limiting grooves 1110 located on an outer circumferential surface thereof, and the two limiting grooves 1110 are located opposite to each other along a radial direction R of the cylinder body 11. A long side of each limiting groove 1110 extends along an axial direction S of the cylinder body 11, and the limiting groove 1110 extends along the axial direction of the cylinder body 11 to the bottom wall 112 and extends through a portion of the bottom wall 112. The bottom wall 112 includes an installation groove 1121, and the installation groove 1121 is located on a surface of the bottom wall 112 away from the inner cavity of the cylinder body 11. A long side of the installation groove 1121 extends along the radial direction R of the cylinder body 11, and two ends of the installation groove 1121 are respectively communicated to two limiting grooves 1110.
As shown in FIG. 9, the limiting groove 1110 includes a limiting groove bottom surface 1114 and an avoidance hole 1111 disposed in the limiting groove bottom surface 1114 and extending through the side wall 111. A thickness of a limiting groove bottom wall is less than a thickness of the side wall 111; alternatively, the thickness of the limiting groove bottom wall is the same as the thickness of the side wall 111. A long side of the avoidance hole 1111 extends along the axial direction S of the cylinder body 11, and extends to the bottom wall 112 and extends through a portion of the bottom wall 112.
The presence of the limiting grooves 1110 will reduce the strength of the cylinder body 11. In order to maintain the strength of cylinder body 11, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the side wall 111 of the cylinder body 11. However, the increase in the thickness of the side wall 111 will result in material waste and an increase in weight of the socket 100. In order to prevent the need for increasing the thickness of the side wall 111 due to the presence of limiting grooves 1110, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, each limiting groove 1110 further includes two strip-shaped protrusions 1113 disposed opposite to each other. The strip-shaped protrusions 1113 are disposed on an outer surface of the side wall 111 and each protrude from the outer surface of the side wall 111 along the radial direction R of the cylinder body 11. Each strip-shaped protrusion 1113 extends along the axial direction S of the cylinder body 11, so that a length direction of each strip-shaped protrusion 1113 is parallel to the axial direction S of the cylinder body 11. Opposite side surfaces of the two strip-shaped protrusions 1113 corresponding to each limiting groove 1110 may play a role of limiting the clamping plate 23 disposed in the limiting groove 1110.
In order to prevent the two clamping plates 23 (the cooperating relationship between the limiting grooves 1110 and the clamping plates 23 is shown in FIG. 12) disposed in the limiting grooves 1110 from moving along a circumferential direction of the cylinder body 11 or along a tangential direction of the outer circumferential surface of the side wall 111 during torque testing, the opposite side surfaces of the two strip-shaped protrusions 1113 are respectively disposed to be in contact with the side surfaces of the clamping plate 23 in the width direction, thereby implementing the limitation of the clamping plate 23. The opposite side surfaces of the two strip-shaped protrusions 1113 along the circumferential direction of cylinder body 11 constitute a limiting structure that prevents the clamping plate 23 from moving along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body 11 or along the tangential direction of the outer circumferential surface of the side wall 111.
The two limiting grooves 1110 are opposite along the radial direction R of the cylinder body 11. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, the limiting groove bottom surfaces 1114 of the two limiting grooves 1110 are also opposite along the radial direction R of the cylinder body 11. A distance between outer surfaces of the two limiting groove bottom surfaces 1114 is a set value E, and E is greater than (D + 2C).
In the above embodiments, in order to prevent the clamping plate 23 from moving along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body 11 or along the tangential direction of the outer circumferential surface of the side wall 111, the limiting groove 1110 is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the side wall 111, the limiting groove 1110 includes two strip-shaped protrusions 1113, and the opposite side surfaces of the two strip-shaped protrusions 1113 along the circumferential direction of cylinder body 11 constitute the limiting structure that prevents the clamping plate 23 from moving along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body 11 or along the tangential direction of the outer circumferential surface of the side wall 111. In some other embodiments, the limiting structure may alternative in other forms. For example, the outer circumferential surface of the side wall 111 may not be provided with the limiting grooves 1110 therein. Instead, two protrusions may be provided corresponding to each clamping plate 23 at intervals along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body. The clamping plates 23 extends between the two corresponding protrusions, and the two protrusions may be respectively in contact with the two side surfaces of the clamping plate 23, which will also implement the limitation of the clamping plate 23. In some other embodiments, the limiting structure may not be provided, a portion of the contact portion 24 that extends into the inner cavity of the cylinder body 11 is used to limit the movement of the clamping plate along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body 11 or along the tangential direction of the outer circumferential surface of the side wall 111.
In the above embodiments, the opposite surfaces of the two strip-shaped protrusions 1113 constitute groove walls of the limiting groove. In some other embodiments, the strip-shaped protrusions 1113 may not be provided. In order to ensure that the limiting grooves 1110 may effectively prevent the movement of the clamping plates 23, the thickness of the side wall 111 may increase, and a groove depth of the limiting groove 1110 may increase accordingly.
In the above embodiments, the avoidance holes 1111 each extend along the axial direction S of the cylinder body 11 to the bottom wall 112 and extend through the portion of the bottom wall 112. In some other embodiments, the avoidance holes 1111 may not extend to the bottom wall 112. Instead, the avoidance holes 1111 exist only at positions where the contact portions 24 are located when the ground clamp 2 is clamped in place, as long as the contact portions 24 can extend into the inner cavity of the cylinder body 11.
Hereinafter, the process of assembling the ground clamp 2 and the cover member 1 will be exemplary illustrated. As shown in FIGS. 5, 9, 10, and 11, the ground clamp 2 moves upward from the bottom wall 112 of the cylinder body 11 until the ground clamp 2 is clamped onto the side wall 111. The two clamping plates 23 of the ground clamp 2 each extend into a gap between the two strip-shaped protrusions 1113, and the clamping surfaces 231 of the two clamping plates 23 are respectively in contact with the limiting groove bottom surfaces 1114 of the two limiting grooves 1110. That is, the two clamping plates 23 of the ground clamp 2 are clamped onto the two limiting groove bottom surfaces 1114, and the limiting groove bottom surfaces 1114 constitute cooperating surfaces on the side wall 111 for cooperating to the clamping surfaces 231. The clamping plates 23 constitute a clamping portion of the ground clamp 2 for clamping the side wall 111.
It will be noted that in the above embodiments, the clamping plates 23 constitute the clamping portion of the ground clamp 2 for clamping the side wall 111. In some other embodiments, the clamping portion may be only a portion of the clamping plates 23. That is, when in use, only side surfaces of this portion facing the side wall 111 constitute the clamping surfaces and are attached to the side wall 111, as long as the contact portions 24 are provided on this portion simultaneously.
FIG. 14 is a sectional view of FIG. 13 in an A-A direction. As shown in FIGS. 5, 9, and 14, the bottom plate 22 of the ground clamp 2 extends into the installation groove 1121 and attaches to a groove bottom of installation groove 1121. As shown in FIG. 9, in order to ensure that the bottom plate 22 can be attached to the groove bottom of the installation groove 1121, the installation groove 1121 includes a blind hole 1123 disposed in the groove bottom. The blind hole 1123 is used to accommodate a protruding portion of the rivet 32 passing through the riveting hole 221 in FIG. 4.
As shown in FIG. 9, the installation groove 1121 further includes two positioning protrusions 1122 located on a side of the bottom wall 112 away from the inner cavity of the cylinder body 11. As shown in FIG. 5, the bottom plate 22 of the ground clamp 2 includes two through holes 222. The two through holes 222 of the ground clamp 2 allow the two positioning protrusions 1122 of the installation groove 1121 to pass through. Therefore, during assembling the ground clamp 2 and the cover member 1, the cooperation between the through holes 222 and the positioning protrusions 1122 may play a positioning role, so as to improve the reliability of the installation between the ground clamp 2 and the cover member 1. In addition, the positioning protrusions 1122 are respectively fixed in the through holes 222, thereby preventing the ground clamp 2 from moving relative to the cover member 1 along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body 11. During assembling the ground clamp 2 into the cylinder body 11, the contact portion 24 move along the avoidance hole 1111, and extend into the inner cavity of the cylinder body 11 through the avoidance hole 1111 when the ground clamp 2 is clamped in place.
As shown in FIG. 14, when the ground clamp 2 is clamped onto the cylinder body 11, the distance E between the outer surfaces of the two limiting groove bottom surfaces 1114 is greater than (D + 2C). Therefore, after the two clamping plates 23 are pushed apart by the side wall 111, the distance between the two clamping surfaces 231 changes from (D + 2C) to E. When designing the sizes of the ground clamp 2 and the cover member 1, the distance (E - 2C) between the two contact points O and O complies with the safety specification value in a case of the distance between the two clamping surfaces 231 is E. That is, when the ground clamp 2 is clamped onto the cylinder body 11, the two clamping plates 23 are pushed apart by the cover member 1, so that the size of the opening of the ground clamp 2 (i.e., the distance between the two contact points O and O) complies with the safety specification requirements. In this way, there may be good contact between the plug and the ground clamp 2, and a comfortable plug-and-unplug experience.
For the ground clamp 2 provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure, even though the bottom plate 22 undergoes deformation, since the two clamping plates 23 connected to the bottom plate 22 are pushed apart by the cover member 1, the size of the opening of the ground clamp 2 may still comply with the safety specification requirements, thereby ensuring the reliability of the size of the opening of the ground clamp 2. Moreover, the contact portions 24 are provided thereon with the second connecting segments 242 with the flat plate structures, so as to provide good support for the first connecting segments 241 and the third connecting segments 243, and make the contact portions 24 not be prone to deformation, thereby ensuring that the size of the opening of the ground clamp 2 complies with the safety specification requirements.
In addition, compared to the grounding piece 102 shown in FIG. 1, the clamping plates 23 of the ground clamp 2 provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure have flat plate structures, and are clamped as a whole onto the side wall 111 of the cylinder body 11. The contact portions 24 are integrally formed with the two clamping plates 23, respectively. Therefore, even if the contact portions 24 undergo deformation, the deformation will not cause the size of the opening of ground clamp 2 not to meet the safety specification requirements due to significant deviation in the size of the opening of the ground clamp 2.
It will be noted that the above safety specification value may be determined based on actual requirements. The safety specification value may be a commonly used value in the range from 28 mm to 29 mm (i.e., (28.5 ± 0.5) mm), or any other specific value as required.
In the above embodiments, the bottom wall 112 includes the installation groove 1121 located away from the inner cavity of the cylinder body 11. When the ground clamp 2 is clamped in place, the bottom plate 22 is located in the installation groove 1121. In some other embodiments, the bottom wall 112 may not be provided with the installation groove 1121. When the ground clamp 2 is clamped in place, the bottom plate 22 may be attached to the surface of the bottom wall 112 away from the inner cavity of the cylinder body 11. Of course, when the ground clamp 2 is clamped in place, the bottom plate 22 may alternatively not be attached to the bottom wall 112.
In the above embodiments, the groove bottom of the installation groove 1121 is provided with the positioning protrusions 1122 thereon. The positioning protrusions 1122 cooperate with the through holes 222 of the ground clamp 2, thereby preventing the ground clamp 2 from moving along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body 11 relative to the cover member 1. In other embodiments, the groove bottom of the installation groove 1121 may not be provided with positioning protrusions 1122.
The foregoing descriptions are merely specific implementation of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and changes or replacements that any person skilled in the art could readily conceive of within the technical scope disclosed by the present disclosure shall be included within the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A plug-in assembly, comprising:
a cover member including a cylinder body configured to allow a plug to be plugged therein; the cylinder body including a side wall and a bottom wall, and the side wall including two avoidance holes disposed along a radial direction of the cylinder body; and

a ground clamp, including:
a bottom plate located on a side of the bottom wall away from an inner cavity of the cylinder body;

two clamping plates disposed opposite to each other along the radial direction of the cylinder body, and located on an outer surface of the side wall; the two clamping plates being configured to clamp the side wall; and

contact portions each located on a side of a clamping plate away from the bottom plate; each contact portion and an end of a corresponding clamping plate away from the bottom plate constituting a closed annular structure; and each contact portion passing through an avoidance hole to be located in the inner cavity of the cylinder body.
The plug-in assembly according to claim 1, wherein side surfaces of the two clamping plates opposite to each other are clamping surfaces, and a distance between the two clamping surfaces is smaller than an outer diameter of the cylinder body, so that the cylinder body pushes the two clamping plates apart; and
after the cylinder body pushes the two clamping plates apart, a minimum distance between the two contact portions is a safety specification value.
The plug-in assembly according to claim 1, wherein
the contact portion includes a first connecting segment, a second connecting segment, and a third connecting segment located between the first connecting segment and the second connecting segment;

the first connecting segment includes an arc-shaped portion connected to the end of the corresponding clamping plate; a starting direction of the first connecting segment is located in a first direction, the first connecting segment extends deviating from the first direction, and an ending direction of the first connecting segment is located in a second direction; the first direction is an extension direction of the clamping plate, and the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction; and

a free end of the second connecting segment abuts against the corresponding clamping plate.
The plug-in assembly according to claim 1, wherein the bottom plate, the clamping plates, and the contact portions have an integral structure.
The plug-in assembly according to claim 1, wherein the ground clamp further includes reinforcing ribs; and the reinforcing ribs are located on outer surfaces of the contact portions, the clamping plates, and both ends of the bottom plate.
The plug-in assembly according to claim 5, wherein the reinforcing ribs and the ground clamp have an integral structure.
The plug-in assembly according to claim 1, wherein an orthogonal projection of the contact portion on the clamping plate is located in a middle of the clamping plate.
The plug-in assembly according to claim 1, wherein a width of an orthogonal projection of the contact portion on the bottom plate is smaller than a width of an orthogonal projection of the clamping plate on the bottom plate.
The plug-in assembly according to claim 1, wherein an outer circumferential surface of the side wall is provided thereon with a limiting structure configured to prevent the clamping plates from moving along a circumferential direction of the cylinder body.
The plug-in assembly according to claim 9, wherein the limiting structure includes two limiting grooves disposed opposite to each other along the radial direction of the cylinder body;
a limiting groove includes a limiting groove bottom surface and an avoidance hole disposed in the limiting groove bottom surface; the avoidance hole extends along an axial direction of the cylinder body to the bottom wall and extends through a portion of the bottom wall;

a clamping surface of the clamping plate is attached to the limiting groove bottom surface; and

two side surfaces of the avoidance hole opposite to each other along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body are configured to limit a contact portion to move along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body.
The plug-in assembly according to claim 10, wherein the limiting groove further includes two strip-shaped protrusions disposed opposite to each other, and protruding from the outer surface of the side wall along the radial direction of the cylinder body;
the strip-shaped protrusions extend along the axial direction of the cylinder body, and a length direction of the strip-shaped protrusions is parallel to the axial direction of the cylinder body; and

opposite side surfaces of the two strip-shaped protrusions are configured to limit the clamping plate to move along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body.
The plug-in assembly according to claim 10, wherein the bottom wall includes an installation groove on a side away from the inner cavity of the cylinder body; the installation groove extends along the radial direction of the cylinder body, and two ends of the installation groove are respectively communicated the limiting grooves; and the bottom plate is located in the installation groove.
The plug-in assembly according to claim 12, wherein the installation groove includes a positioning protrusion; the bottom plate of the ground clamp includes a through hole for the positioning protrusion to pass through; and the positioning protrusion is configured to cooperate with the through hole to prevent the ground clamp from moving along the circumferential direction of the cylinder body relative to the cover member.
The plug-in assembly according to claim 2, wherein the safety specification value is in a range from 28 mm to 29 mm, inclusive.
A socket, comprising a cover plate; the cover plate including at least one plug-in assembly according to any one of the claims 1 to 14; and
a ground connecting piece, the at least one plug-in assembly being fixedly connected with the ground connecting piece.
The socket according to claim 15, wherein
the ground clamp includes a riveting hole, and the ground connecting piece includes an installation hole; and

the ground clamp is fixedly connected with the ground connecting piece by a rivet passing through the installation hole and the riveting hole in sequence.
The socket according to claim 16, wherein the bottom wall includes an installation groove on a side away from the inner cavity of the cylinder body; the installation groove extends along the radial direction of the cylinder body, and the installation groove includes a blind hole configured to accommodate a protruding portion of the rivet passing through the riveting hole.
The socket according to claim 15, further comprising a protective door assembly, a power cord, a switch, a copper strip connector, and a base shell, wherein
the protective door assembly is located between the cover plate and the base shell; and the protective door assembly is configured to cover socket outlets of the socket in a case where a plug of an electrical device is not plugged into the socket, and uncover the socket outlets of the socket in a case where the plug of the electrical device is plugged into the socket;

the copper strip connector is located between the protective door assembly and the base shell, installed on the protective door assembly, and connected to an output terminal of the switch through a jumper wire;

the power cord is connected to an input terminal of the switch; and

the switch is configured to control whether a current is produced between the power cord and the copper strip connector, and further control whether the socket is energized.